


Choosing Joy

by edgarallanrose



Series: Supernatural Tumblr Prompts [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Established Relationship, KonMari | Marie Kondo's Tidying Method, M/M, Season/Series 14, Supportive Castiel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:31:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18404096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edgarallanrose/pseuds/edgarallanrose
Summary: “I don’t remember any cases involving –” Cas lifted the pamphlet and read from it, “Lebanon Community College’s Admissions Department.”“Like I said, it was a while back.”Cas raised an unimpressed eyebrow.“Anyway, you can put that in the garbage pile—”“—Dean—”“—And please, just…don’t tell Sam.”





	Choosing Joy

**Author's Note:**

> Originally a prompt from [this post](http://edgarallanrose.tumblr.com/post/183805154390/angstfluff-prompt-list) where I asked for people to send me one of the dialogue prompts and a ship. narraukoiel asked: If you're still taking prompts, I'd love 93 or 76 😁❤️ Destiel
> 
> 93\. You’re more than that.  
> 76\. You’re not alone.

Dean sat in the library, feet up on the table, desperately trying to ignore the chaos around him. Sam was walking back and forth from the hall to the war room, armful of cardboard boxes. There was raucous from the kitchen as Cas cleared out shelf after shelf. Dean stared hard at the sentence he had been trying to read and reread for at least eight minutes.

Jack tentatively stepped into the library.

“Um, Dean?” Jack asked. “What exactly is happening out here?”

“Sam got Cas hooked on that Marie Kondo-ing crap on Netflix,” Dean sighed, swinging his legs off the table and flipping the book closed with a soft _thump_. “And now they’re unstoppable.”

“Oh. I see. What does that mean?”

“It means it’s spring cleaning time.”

“Oh!” Jack’s eyes lit up. “Maybe I can help!”

“You can offer, but Sam kicked me out of the archive room. Apparently, I don’t understand ‘The Method’ or whatever.”

“Huh. Well, all I know is that Netflix has never let me down before. It’s been a very helpful tool for teaching me how the world works.”

“And this is why we shouldn’t be raising a kid,” Dean muttered to himself. “Go on then, go see what sparks your joy.”

“Dean,” Cas said as he entered the library, Jack giving him a little wave as they crossed paths, “I found something interesting.”

“Oh no, not another one of those Army sized cans of beans from 1938. I thought I tossed all those.”

“Ah, no.” Cas was holding a pamphlet in his hand.

Dean’s stomach sank. He knew exactly what it was before Cas slid it across the table.

“I thought I said my room was off limits.”

“This wasn’t in your room, it was at the bottom of the junk drawer in the kitchen.”

Dean mentally kicked himself. Now he couldn’t even deny that it was his.

“It was, uh, for a case.”

“A case?”

“Yeah, while back.”

“I don’t remember any cases involving –” Cas lifted the pamphlet and read from it, “Lebanon Community College’s Admissions Department.”

“Like I said, it was a while back.”

Cas raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Anyway, you can put that in the garbage pile—”

“—Dean—”

“—And please, just…don’t tell Sam.”

“I won’t,” Cas said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to Dean, lowering his voice. “But I’ll admit I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to talk to your brother about this.”

“Because if anyone should go to school, it should be him. Not that it would actually work out for either of us. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“But you were thinking about it? Going back to school?”

“You have to start school in order to go back to it, Cas.” Dean sighed. “I don’t know. Our whole lives we’ve never stayed in one place this long. And I thought maybe one day I could make a living here, let the next generation of hunters take over. Then Michael happened. It was a dumb idea.”

“I don’t think it’s dumb to consider a future where you can live a life of your choosing.”

“Nice of you to say so, Cas. Like college would even want anything to do with a 40-year-old functioning alcoholic who never even finished high school.”

“You’re more than that,” Cas said with a frown.

Dean scoffed, looking down at his book, tracing the edges of the paper with his fingertip. “Maybe.”

“What were you going to do? With your degree?”

“I mean, I never had it mapped out or anything. Just a thought. A fantasy.”

Cas smiled. “Tell me the fantasy.”

“I’d get my own auto-shop, be in charge of my own business,” Dean said, too easily, betraying how often he had stayed up late at night going over this scenario in his head. “And I’m not talking the Bobby Singer salvage yard, no offense to Bobby. I’m talking a real shop where I could refurbish classic cars. Jack could help maybe, I could teach him. Or put him through school if he wanted to go. Or he could go off and hunt, either on his own or maybe with Claire or one of the girls, and we could still be home base.”

“Claire would eat Jack alive,” Cas deadpanned.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Point is, Jack would have a lot more freedom.”

“And what about Sam?”

“Well, of course Sam could stay and help if he wanted to. But he doesn’t have that passion for cars, not like me. What I really want for him is to be happy, settle down and stop trying to fix the world’s problems. Maybe settling down is a wife, maybe it’s a career. I dunno. But at least I would have my own thing keeping me occupied so he could go off and explore.”

Cas opened his mouth to ask another question, but then he hesitated, closing his mouth again. Dean knew what he was going to ask.

“And you, Castiel,” Dean said softly, taking Cas’ hand in his, “would be with me.”

Cas gave him a shy smile. “Doing what?”

“Whatever we wanted. All night long.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “Right. You can barely stay awake through movie night anymore.”

“Hey now!”

“You snored through twenty minutes of _Mad Max_ last week.”

“Only the boring part.”

“Of course.”

“And between the two of us, I don’t think it could ever be boring.”

Cas laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and he started to lean in towards Dean when Jack bustled through the war room, a giant cardboard box in each arm. Cas leaned back in his seat.

“Well, like I said,” Dean said, dropping their hands and resting his back on the table. “It’s a fantasy.”

“Dean, whatever your future holds, just know you’re not alone. And I’m going to support you and stay by your side, no matter what.”

“Damn, Cas, you should’ve saved that line for the wedding vows.”

“I do love you, you know,” Cas said, deadly serious, like the words alone weren’t enough to shatter Dean’s brain. “And it’s not a joke. So please don’t invalidate my feelings for you when they’re the truest thing I know. Okay?”

Dean swallowed. “Yeah. Okay.”

Cas turned his head, checking to see if Jack had gone before turning back and taking Dean’s face in both hands, kissing him soundly.

“You’re a great man, Dean Winchester. Please stop making me have to remind you constantly.”

“Maybe just one more quick reminder?”

Cas gave him a fond sigh and kissed him again, and Dean placed a hand on the nape of his neck to keep him in place. Dean felt Cas’ mouth curve into a smile against his lips.

“Are you sure you want me to throw away the pamphlet?” Cas asked as he pulled away, placing it in both of Dean’s hands. “Or does it still spark joy?”

Dean stared at the pamphlet, flipped it over between his fingers.

“You know what? I’ll hold on to it. Just for now.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to like or share the og ficlet on tumblr, you may do so [here](http://edgarallanrose.tumblr.com/post/183882810630/if-youre-still-taking-prompts-id-love-93-or-76), and/or follow me so you can check out the next time I am accepting and posting prompts!


End file.
